Search This Blog

ASK (BEEMAN) AND YE SHALL RECEIVE (AN ANSWER)

Okay FALLING SKIES fans. Since this whole season just blasted by in eight short weeks... I thought it would be fun to do something else to keep the blog going a bit longer. (As we all agree next year is a long way off!)

So... I thought I could answer fan's questions about the show. I did this once before on HEROES and it went well.

A few caveats.... I don't have to answer every question, if they are off-point, or ranting, or asking me to spoil too much, or rude... Then I'm not considering them.

But if you have a serious question about FALLING SKIES, be it behind the scenes stuff, or reasonable stuff about the cast, or ideas you'd like throw out - I'd like to answer them or comment on them for you!

My favorite stuff is to answer questions about how we did stuff or why certain scenes were produced, written or directed in certain ways.

I'm also more than happy to answer general questions about directing, producing, acting and writing.

So... If you have a question about FALLING SKIES, or about any other show I've ever worked on (i.e. SMALLVILLE, HEROES or anything else) - lob them into the "COMMENTS" section below... When there's enough questions posted I'll respond in my next blog. Maybe in a week or two.

Until then....

Post your questions!!!!!

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Other Apps

Comments

I've been wondering (and I don't know if you'll know the answer to this)...How old is Ben supposed to be? Hal is supposed to be sixteen...So I'm trying to line up their ages, and it's just not adding up.

4) Was Weaver in the rear with the gear? Because he's done stupid things: created a fixed location that he cannot deend against air attack; attack a structure in broad day light with an column of troops that he cannot defend from air attack; put is personnel out in a cow pasture so they cannot find cover from the aliens' aircraft; drive down a road at night with his lights on with Tom at the wheel-- hasn't heard of black out driving; why is he so willing so sacrifice his best troops in a pyrrhic victory at best at the end of season 1?

5) Why are the Aliens so stupid that they cannot or will not kill the resistance fighters?

6) Why aren't the resistance fighters killing all military assets available to the aliens including kids?

8) Why is Pope the Professor of the Gang and Tom Gilligan??? I mean really Pope looks like a meth running drug dealing biker gang member-- not exactly the sort of guy that knows much about metallurgy or sophisticated bomb construction-- so why then is he the go to guy for these things?

9) How can the mech metal be both super hard and have a super low melting point? Most really hard materials have a very high melting point? So I want to know how the guys in the 2nd Mass are melting forming and creating bullets out of materials that were so advanced that US military's high tech weapons failed.

10) How is it that the Aliens can destroy every possible source of resistance on the planet in the first attack and yet the resistance will win in the end?

11) Do you really want us the viewers to believe that Military forces of every country in the world were just sitting in their racks waiting to get nuked by the enemy? Are they like well behaved VC and stand still for door gunners of the Choopers?

12) Do you really want us the viewers to believe that Aliens have some magic Radiation weapon that kills only mammals??? Because in the Writers' Q&A some wonderkid put forth this answer-- and that after the bombs were drop they blew up exactly 100 miles and only 100 miles! I'm none of this radiation entered the higher atmosphere??? So I'm wondering how if the same writer said this radiation was dangerous to the aliens how then it didn't contaminate the entire planet since they were dropping these things like hot cakes! I mean really want to believe that radioactive fallout is not covering all the regions of the Earth after using enough of these weapons to destroy 90 percent of humanity?

14) In the pilot New York is mentioned with world capitols-- Who doesn't know what a capitol is??? I mean New York hasn't been the capitol of the US since what the 1790's??? So I want to know how that slip up was allowed?

17) Why do the writers think that Machine guns are not Classified as destructive devises? They are.. you will not find too many full auto Ak-47's in gunshops in the US. Unless they cater to CLass III weapons holders.

18) Why is it that Mechs can be blown up by two weak hand grenades but some how DU rounds from say a 20mm M61Vulcan cannon were ineffective in destroying them? They would have about the same energy on contact...

So really where is the realism? Where is the character development. Suggestions I have watch these films: "War Trilogy" by Wajda, "Army of Shadows" by Melville, "Lacombe, Lucien" by Malle, "Overlord" by Cooper, "Ivan's Childhood" by Tarkovsky... And so on and so forth.. .

1. You guys did a lot of scenes focusing on Bens increased abilities since being harnessed, including the increase tension with civiliens. At the end we also see the aliens very interested in Ben and Tom. Was this done to simply show what we found out, which is Ben is possibly going to mutate or was their a deeper purpose to things that may be revealed about Ben in season 2? (loaded question i know)

2. We noticed we never see any of the kids actually taken (other then Karen) and we dont see the harnesses attached to them. Was that done on purpose so as not to reveal too much? Might we explore this and get a view from within the alien ships/camps?

3. Some scenes were cut from the Rescue scene in Silent Kill when Hal goes to get the kids. Will you be using those next season or dropping them? (referring to the bloody floor scene)

4. Now that you have the go ahead for season 2, does that mean a slightly larger budget to allow for a more expansive view of the aliens, their ships and more locations? The CGI work we did see was awesome, would like to see more of the alien side. (perhaps even a little infiltration by Ben into the alien ship ;) )

As a fan who has been left devastated by this amazing cliffhanger I'm am extremely glad for this opportunity to ask questions. I'll try to make them so they are not too "loaded."

1) Are the "Skidders" who have been shown throughout the movie what Ben and the other children may end up as? Or will they take on a different physical form with two legs and all.2) The alien ships were supposed to be able to anticipate rockets, or so Pope says. But Tom was able to shoot one down with an RPG?3) The central tower had taken a beating from all sorts of heavy artillery that previous humans had shot. Would explosives at the base still work? Like were they more powerful? In any case continue this amazing work. I look forward to season 2!

Alan Turing... I'm going to keep it simple. Try suspending disbelief and give the show a chance to develop and you may be able to enjoy it.

According to Wikipedia's definition, "Suspension of disbelief or "willing suspension of disbelief" is a formula for justifying the use of fantastic or non-realistic elements in literary works of fiction. It was put forth in English by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. Suspension of disbelief often applies to fictional works of the action, comedy, and horror genres.

The phrase "suspension of disbelief" came to be used more loosely in the later 20th century, often used to imply that the onus was on the reader, rather than the writer, to achieve it. It might be used to refer to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. These fictional premises may also lend to the engagement of the mind and perhaps proposition of thoughts, ideas, art and theories."

Thanks so much for doing this by the way! What i was wondering is in future episodes has there been any talk of showing what the Mason family lives were like before the aliens first came before they attacked? Like in a flashback mode or something? Because i would sure like to know more about Rebecca and what their home was like with her around. Or how Hal met Karen and his school life and so on. When i saw the episode where Weaver had his little flashback it inspired me and i thought it'd be cool to see something more like that. thanks! :)

Well I'm so glad you can cut and paste your way to a non-cogent argument. So I'll keep this simple for you, who is obviously a neophyte when it comes literary theory.

Coleridge never intended the concept of Suspended Disbelief as some form of panacea to be used in case of what can only called bad writing. What Coleridge had intended was that if the "framework" of a story was compelling enough and the characters acting within logical means for that specific type framework developed by the author-people would accept things they no longer believed.

So in the case of FS we a have fundamentally flawed framework from which story is developed from.

1) The Aliens have destroyed every advanced military in the world. Every military destroyed with out any problems.

2) The Aliens want to destroy all of Humanity over a specific age.

3) The Aliens are extremely advanced.

So when you create that as your framework-- you can only go down from there. After all nothing will make sense beyond the start of the story. For example: you want me the audience to believe that Humans have any chance at all against an Alien Species that has just destroy all major military forces in the world??? That have basically no reason to constrain their military might after they get what they want? So what is stopping the Aliens from say just destroying all Humans on sight?

Answer Nothing...

SO if you want people believe your story you have to have a framework supports your story! FS just doesn't have it and you want the audience to basically stop thinking when faced with blatantly poor writing.

Thank you for taking questions. I always love reading your insights and commentary. My question focuses on SMALLVILLE: What is your most vivid memory of working with each of the actors (Tom, Michael, Erica, Kristin, Allison, Cassidy, Justin, Annette, John Schneider, John Glover, etc.)?

First Greg, thank you so much for taking the time to answer the fans.A Smallville question. If I'm not mistaken, you came on board in S2.One of my favorite thing was the relationship between Clark and Lex. I've read that the homoerotic subtext between the 2 was purposefully put in there by the showrunners from the beginning. Is this true or was it all a fan creation?

I would like to echo the comments of Alan Turing - this is really not a series for thinking human beings and it's too bad.What's worse is that Steven Spielberg would lend his name and support to such an effort.

Hi Greg, thank you so much for offering to answer questions! We have not finished Falling Skies yet in Australia, we are up to Ep 8 ATM, so I can't wait to see how it ends! I'm a die hard Smallville fan (LOVED the pic of you in the S7 puffy jacket!) so I was wondering how different was it for you as a director to direct FS vs Smallville? FS seems grittier and had more outdoor scenes. Also, how did the non CGI skitters move around? Was someone inside a costume or were they remote controlled? Thanks for your blogs, I'm always so fascinated about what happens BTS to make my favourite shows!

I’m not normally a fan of sci fi, butt somehow I’ve gotten hooked… First, what I don’t get is why, as a historian, Weaver is not recording what has happened. I cannot imagine he wouldn’t understand the immense importance of documenting the most significant event in human history. His character seems to have enough down time to do this, and, the documentation could be used to tell a story or the story in retrospect. Also, as a historian he would recognize their group would need a set of rules to operate under. Think Mayflower Compact here more than constitutional convention. I love the historian’s perspective his character brings to the story, but the character should be tightened up a little. I think he brings (or could bring) more to the table than the others appreciate. I like the idea of discovering the use of radio frequency energy as a weapon. However, you guys need to get an amateur radio (ham radio) guy as an advisor (talk to the ARRL). Personally, I think the use of ham radio would be a cool story element. Ham radio guys are geniuses at making things out of what might look like junk. Ham radio’s core mandate and mission is emergency preparedness. Nearly every PD and FD in the country has a RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency System) who are a group of volunteers who support communications for municipalities in time of emergencies. These guys can set of comms anytime, anywhere. Most of us have quite a bit of personal equipment at our disposal. Running on generators, solar, and batteries is common and I think would fit nicely in the story. Also, the scene where the mechs were driven back with some RFI would have been child’s play. Most guys have a frequency counter that will tell you what frequency they are operating on. A directional antenna could easily be built out of scrap and even a small, portable radio can put out 50 to 100 watts. It could be a defense and/or weapon. There are a lot of possibilities here.Other things. Why are the survivors not looking to secure diesel vehicles? After 6 months, that gasoline is going to begin to gel and deteriorate. Diesel can be made from all sorts of oil sources (such as cooking oil) and even oil producing plants. The first diesel was run on peanut oil. Modern diesels are very reliable, very low maintenance, and powerful. A four wheel drive ¾ or 1 ton would be a great technical; much better and more capable than the GTO was.The military tactics. Like others have said, some of the tactics and weapons uses don’t make sense. They should be blacked out at night. They should not be driving in a tight column through what amounts to a kill box. If mech metal will penetrate their armor, use it as a penetrator in a sabot or lead round. If the plasma jet from such a round is what will kill the mechs, there is more than one way to do that. Is Dale Dye not advising you as to the military aspect of the story? Some of this is soldier 101 stuff. OK, so you want to knock over their mother ship…thing. Yeah, you can use demolition on the legs and all, but with the amateur hour execution it didn’t work so well. How about undermining the feet? There may be tunnels running under or near that thing. You could use explosives, a water main (though they probably are no longer under pressure) or maybe something from the mining industry. Take the footing out from under a leg or two and you may be able to set a catastrophic chain of events in motion. Once that huge structure changes from potential energy to kinetic energy it will be impossible to stop (think twin towers here. A radio commentator here (So Cal) described 911 as a low tech method that achieved very high order results. That might be an interesting way to approach the alien problem.

The wonderkid with the 100 miles radius needs to cut down comics a bit, indeed. Although for a sci-fi series the idea that aliens have some improved neutron bomb thing with even more radiation and even less thermal and kinetic energy is sufficiently believable. I'll leave all strategical stuff and quite a bot of the physics issues in favour of some more mundane questions:

1. Why do we see skitters, the most common enemy in the series with such variable intelligence? On one hand, they are able to use scare tactics like the execution of the harnessed kids or to collaborate with traitors. On the other, they don't seem to understand the concept of melee weapons (the one that Tom incapacitated, the one that Hal killed in the hospital and the one that chased Jimmy probably all regret in skitter heaven that they didn't carry a crowbar), can't count (yeah, hospital guy again) and sleep under bridges. Are their brainier achievements dictated by the tall humanoids, are some of them less than bright for different reasons, or there is no specific inworld explanation and the writers simply had sufficient freedom on skitter intelligence to do whatever suits the story?

2. Why do we see only two fighters under 18 - Hal and Jimmy? Realistically speaking, teenagers are quite able to fight and many wars have seen teenage soldiers. Normally I'd have supposed some moral issues with showing kids with guns, but this is obviously not the reason here. Parental duty seems frequent topic, but we don't see anyone, willing to protect his folks.

I am very happy to her that Falling Skies will have another season! Although I wish I did not have to wait until next summer.

I have many questions, but I will only ask a few.

Is the harness organic or mechanical, or a little of both?

Where are all the animals? Many animals live in rural areas, so where are the cats, dogs, horses, cows, goats, ..etc?

How did the survivors survive those first few months? Did they hunker down in their homes or did they flee?

What was the news reporting and what were people doing in those days after the ships arrived but before the attack? I live in a large metro area and if an alien ship parked itself above my city I would run for the hills, literally. If Tom taught at Cambridge, how did his family survive the initial bombing?

What percentage of people were killed in the initial bombing vs skitter attacks in the months after?

The resistance fighters appear to have mastered tactics in how to fight the aliens, from the skidders to the mechs and even developed a plan to attack the base ship. The questions of how they survived, when the military and most of humanity was wiped out, do not need to be answered. Try to answer those questions and you'll get bogged down in the details. However, an important piece of the resistance is missing---strategy. We all remember "V", the original series with Michael Ironside, and how they came up with a plan to bring down the alien ships. That's what's missing in this series. You killed off Colonel Porter. Big mistake. The leaders like Colonel Porter are the key to the world-wide resistance. If this becomes a battle in Massachusetts, it's nothing more than a battle for vengeance, and ignores the larger issue of humanity's survival. You need to bring back the leaders on Colonel Porter's level---if they don't hatch a plan yet, they need to at least be alive to develop one in the future. Wipe out the higher leaders, and you render the resistance hopeless and defeated. Who will want to watch the show then?

Hi Mr Beeman thanks for doing this. I have an idea you can use if you want, the idea is maybe next season you can do a contest to give people a chance to be on Falling Skies for one or two episodes, or to be extras. It could be on fallingskies.com. It is just an idea you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

Mr. Beeman, love the blog, and appreciate the details into producing such powerful TV shows. My question is hopefully pretty simple, how and what did the sound folks use to make the Mech hum? It is very unique and definitely gives the mechs more depth as characters. Thanks again for being willing to entertain fan questions, and cheers for season two of Falling Skies! Love it!

I think explaining where they are finding all of the fuel for the kerosene lamps and misc stuff they are using might help next season. Seems like they are using supplies (other than gasoline and bullets) like they have an unlimited supply.

My young son loves the show too. His first question to me was about food. "Why aren't they deer hunting?"

I noticed that in one of the episodes that the skitters also had the back alien thingy on them were they captured from another world and is that why they are so affectionate towards the human kids who have them? I can't wait for Falling Skies to come back again, such a great show and wonderfully produced and directed. Hats off to you and all who put in their efforts to this show.

Thanks for taking time for your fans. I enjoyed the character of Mike Thompson. Loved the caring devoted father Martin Roach portrayed. Please consider bring him back...somehow...it is Sci-fi, after all.

Great job on season 1 and I wouldn't change a thing! (Unless Tom doesn't get off the mothership, because then I would change it that he never got on. As he is my favourite). Here are my questions :)

1. How would you advise getting into directing, it seems like such a distant dream that people struggle to make reality?

2. Would you consider hiring writers from the UK to write for Falling Skies.. like me?

3. How would a writer get into writing for something like Falling Skies?

4. Will you carry on with the Mason family closeness that we see though the first season?

5. Will you call the new aliens 'Shon's' because I think that's a cool name?

Please carry on the amazing job you are doing, I really wish I was apart of it! If you have time it would make my day to read my fan fiction of Falling Skies, it's not very long but it is unfinished, but I would love to hear what you think. Here is the link, http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7288716/1/The_Complications_of_Saving_Karen

1) One thing that's got me really curious is Pope/Maggie's story. They seem to have some history between them; will we be seeing some more back story of those two in the next season?

2) Now that Tom has made the drastic decision at the end of episode 9, does that mean that Hal is going to be stepping into his father's shoes again? He did a good job during the Sanctuary episodes and I'd like to see that protective side of Hal more.

3) I think Tom is the stable foundation for the 2nd mass, are we going to see it fall apart in the 2nd season?

That's it for now. Thank you for taking the time to answer all of these questions! :)

I agree with anon at 505. Tom surrendering at the end of the show defied what his character would have done. I am also having a hard time understanding why these seemingly unemotional aliens would use Tom's son to blackmail him to come with them. Why didn't they take the unharnessed kid back when he was willing to go back?

It's only been about 9 months since the invasion, correct? Why is it that the survivors have been unable to find more resources? This is a question I'd like answered in flashbacks. I love that the survivors discovered to use the mech metal in order to do damage to the aliens, and how to use "old" technology in order to confuse the mechs.

I'm really disappointed that we have to wait an entire year to mull over these things. Thanks for taking the time to consider these questions.

would it be within the realm of possibiltites that the skidders could join the resistance? I mean after all, they are harnest also. also did the skidders always look like skidders or did the harnest change them?

Hi Greg, it's Elena. :D How are you? Falling Skies looks awesome & I love reading your blog. I was wondering if you'd be able to & willing to help me be considered for an audition for the role of a planeteer in the Captain Planet (2014) that's being developed (it's on IMDB). I grew up watching & loving the show. I can also sing the entire theme song. Hehe. Thanks. Take care.Elena.

Couple of questions that are hopefully easy to answer. 1. Are we going to see flashbacks of the actual invasion?2. You have shown the skidders with a sense of caring for the kids that are harnessed as in the rescued of Ben. Will there be more of that? That episode changed my view of them.

I am part of http://fallingskies.libsyn.com/where we have been doing a podcast about the show. we have been wondering.1) Where have all of the people that were in the camp with Weaver and Tom in the initial episodes gone?2) How were the stunts with Rick done in the last episodes? Hanging from the ceiling and jumping over the bus ect.3)Was the 'ship' that was over Boston the the same one that had the fireball in it at the end or was it the smaller vehicle that was fired on returning to the mother ship? We never saw the ship over Boston leave, Did We?

So I loved the ham radio tie in. You should develop that a little in season two. Just have the scavengers check any house with a big ham antenna. All kinds of goodies there that could be used against the aliens. So did you guys have to look very hard to find the Globe scout transmitter, or did you just get it off of ebay? My whole family loves the series. Dont worry about these guys who want to shoot holes in the script just because you dont worry about every little detail. It is TV for christ sake, not harry potter, developed over 7 or 8 movies. They can always go watch "Too big to Fail" on HBO if they need all of the details filled in. Good Job and looking forward to season two.When will season 1 be out on DVD

Hello Beeman!! First of all both my husband and I LOVE Falling Skies! I regret to say that we've never watched your other shows however you've done a really great job with this one. Would have really liked to see a little more of "how" the situation came to be - perhaps in flashbacks at some point in time. The series was just so short (length of time on the Network) I'm hooked and need more!!!! Thanks for a very interesting series. Noah and Moon are a great couple....

I have read with interest the comments about the logical weaknesses in the storyline. I have to say up front that I did "suspend belief" and enjoyed watching the whole series.However, ...Be wary of using the excuse of "Suspend belief" when the more honest explanation is that showing more cohesive surviving military units would have blown my budget for hiring military hardware and extras. it is much cheaper to rent a 70s muscle car and mount a .50 on it, than to rent a Bradly tank. As someone who owns and restores vintage military equipment, I have heard a lot about the trials and travails of renting a tank for a movie shoot. OK, so in a "real" invasion, you would have had way more troops making up the 2nd MA and lots more real military equipment than you show in the series. But I have to say that you could still have written the personal stories and had us rooting for the heros and still had the "real" stuff int he background. I am forced to agree that you might have hired a military advisor - and listened to him/her!Oh, for chrissake! Just answer this - why do you have so many armed men guarding the Inside of the school building? If you had that much manpower, they should have been outside on watch, of off duty sleeping, working on vehicles, or playing with their kids, not guarding a school hallway. More like you had x number of extras on set and just told them " go stand there and look serious" to fill the landscape int he camera. As to taking the questions - points for you.

It seems that the honest answer as to "why this and not that" boils down to lack of homework.

It is rather like the old saw about an "avant garde" theatre group putting on Romeo and Juliett and they all wear black leotards with a coloured ribbon on their arm to show Montegue or Capullett, and come up with a high-brow sounding "artistic" reason, when in reallity they didn't have a budget to hire a costumer to make a full suite of Italian Renn clothes!

So, I can't be bothered to figure out how to write a sound plotline, I can just say "it's Hollywood! and that removes the need to do my homework. For example, the RPG int he last episode. Where would they get a Soviet block weapon in Mass? While it is legal in most states to own a Class 1 Destructive Device, they owner wouldn't have had HE shells, only solid shot. Did your staff ever touch base with BATF and see what would have been legal to own in the area your story takes place? As for a military unit -being retired military myself and with OPFOR experiance - the only Russian RPGs would have been either deactivated in the museums of the local bases, or at the training bases, or a lab like Aberdeen. So, why didn't you use a current issue US AT weapon? Your FX or Armoury folks should have been just as able ot hand you a resin model of a Dragon as they did a Russian RPG.

Thanks for offering to answer these. Here are a few scathingly brilliant questions:

1)So far, the civilians have been pretty much background material, except for the one loudmouth in a couple of episodes (he didn't trust sending the kids away). Can we expect a bit more from them?

2) i know Noah Wyle mentioned that he picked the book TALE OF TWO CITIES because it was lighter, but know he is a history professor, I thought of something that relates back to THE TIME MACHINE (1960). In the end, Filby notices that HG Wells has taken three books back to the future with him and he asks "Which three books would you take?". While he never identifies them, it is obvious he took three books that would impact on the future. TALE OF TWO CITIES could be the same.

Were you influenced much by classic sci-fi films from the past?

3)The scene at the start of Ep. 9, with the 2ndMass watching some old films was so peaceful and touching. It reminded me of some of the scenes in the series MASH when they would watch films from home.

Do you have a favorite "small" scene that does not depend on effects or action?

3) Will there be a release of the score? It is really effective, yet doesn't overpower the show?

4)Will the show be rerun during the winter to help introduce it to more of the potential audience?

5)You've got a great group of young actors who are very outgoing and fun. Have you thought about letting Maxim, Connor, and Daniyah does video diary log of the second season?

How hard would it be to add another race showing up to battle along side the humans? Kind of like they have been observing the whole deal and choose to come down and lend us a hand. They could turn out be some old rival of the skitters. Although I am sure that it would cost a boat load to CG the new race into the story line, so I guess I am just a wishful thinker.

Hey I was wondering when you said "a year is a long time" if you ment that it will be a year before you have anymore episodes out. I hope not because a fantastic show called Jericho did something like that and when they tried bringing it back it had been so long that it wasn't quite as interesting. I hope new episodes come out soon!

I don't have a question, but I will tell you I realllllyyyy like Falling Skies, so much that I'm using the show in my Writer's group. I see cool writing tech spread throughout the show that I have to share them with my group. But I hate that I have to wait until next summer to see what happens to Tom!!!

Oh and one more thing. I made watching the episodes of FS a homework assignment. I told my writers to watch the show on the website and we talk about it later. So keep up the good work, you're helping my writers. :)

will season 2 have more episodes?Great show, very entertaining. I notice a lot of people complain about a lack of realism in the show. I for one don't care much about realism, I get enough in my day to day life. For entertainment I want to be taken away from real life, and Falling Skies meets that need.

This series is of the kind one would like to know more did where in the space aliens come from? How are they physically? How many planets have been conquered? etc. But something that if you want to know is what has happened to the rest of humanity? I liked the series, congratulations, although there is much better, expect to work hard to make the story more real and solid. Especially in the special effects. The comic was excellent for DarkHorse fact, it would be great to have a Vlensa in the TV series. One of my hopes as a viewer is to see a more real guerrilla war, learning military tactics, unity, solidarity and love (is that churches will exist, as would the Reilgion ?)...Wow! Number of issues to explore in a situation like this! Thank you.

1- Do you pretend on show character's lifes before the invasion, in flashbacks? (I think it would be very interesting, speccialy by showing pope's skills, for example).

2-There is a chance of watching survivors around the world fighting against the aliens even in short scenes?

3-Would be such nice to see more tricks from the humans to disarm aliens and fight against them in a equal level, wouldnt it?

4-Will the show have more fight scenes or short scenes with a lot of amazing acting and visual/special effects ? For Example (Tom's fight against the skitter) and (the end of the episode 10 when the ship lay down and happens the dialog with the Tall Alien, Karen, Weaver) Or i could even suggest like someone acting like big ass, punching some mechs or skiters in slowmotion and stuff ? haha, would be awsome, completing the show.

Ooh, this is awesome. So your taking suggestions too eh? Allright, awesome. However, first, one thing. I, Philip Petrunak, hereby resign all creative rights towards suggestions and ideas non-exclusively in perpetuity to any and all parties wishing to claim them.

2. Skidder Armor. I'm surprised no one has actually done this yet. They have really thick scales, so why has no one used their armor for their own armor? BTW, there is a catch. If you wear the armor right next to your own skin for two long, it fuses to your arm, and you gain skidder's strength.

3. Gay characters. No, seriously. It's great that your show is so racially and religiously inclusive. However, your show doesn't appear to have any characters that fall outside of the norms of sexuality, nor gender roles (aside from the odd female soldier). It's not like the concept of occasional has chased viewers away, just look at Jack Harkness from Torchwood.

4. Have a bigger picture in mind, a consistent vision all the writers must conform too. I don't care what, just make it something. The one problem with shows like heroes and small-ville is a lack of a bigger picture. Without a bigger story arc connecting the seasons, every time we start a new season it often feels like an incredibly different show. Just as long as you actually have a plan, a few set pieces that must be executed each season. It not only makes the show feel more complete, but it also allows us to build up to something amazing. That way, when you're told, "this will be the last season", you don't have to invent a new story arc to end the series, you just take a few episodes and end the one you've had going since the beginning.

Anyway, that's it. I don't really have any question. There are things I want to know, but obviously I want the show to enlighten me.

I have an appeal to Mr. Turing, who seems preoccupied with the impossibility of any hope for the human race after the dismantling of virtually all of its major weaponry (as well as perhaps the major mishaps of Weaver)...

History is full of instances where, in short, the battle is not "...to the strong." Just ask ancient Persia, the nations allied against Israel in the 1967 and 1973wars, or any Kansas University basketball fan.

Thanks for bringing this to us. It is a great show and has already shown a lot of potential for being even a greater show.

Question: Will they be showing contact with more resistance fighters maybe from other regions of the country/world?

I like the cast. Several unknowns and many known. All Great working together. You can already see the family unity which usually o n any show takes a heck of a lot more episodes to do than what you have made so far.

Question: When will this be on DVD with all the extras including bloopers etc?

To all those that think Beeman and his gang of maligned writers should be given a break. Sure, they are just writing a story. That is true. However, shouldn't that story be somewhat believable? I think so-- perhaps, I'm in the minority here?

In the case of FS, the story is not believable, the characters do not act in a manner consistent with their stated objectives, and frankly the premise seems to have been created by college freshman creative writing student with an obsession for Occupied Europe circa 1942.

So I'm not clear as to whether Rodat was just too cheap to write a film about Occupied France or the Low Lands under Nazis Germany or whether Spielberg's purse strings were too tight to afford such a show. Either way this allegory for Occupied Europe played by Nazis like Aliens and Resistance Fighting Humans is pathetic.

Now to all those who want to say "humans could win this thing"... You're not even remotely being realistic in any sense of the word. If the Aliens control the air-space-ground, where do you think the Humans are going to do the basic things sustain life? Are these aliens going to some how miss a farm being built out in the middle of nowhere? Are the Aliens going to miss humans moving in convoys from one area to another? I think not.

So basically all the aliens have to do is remove three things for victory: the ability for the humans to sustain themselves nutritionally speaking; destroy enough infrastructure so the humans cannot resupply themselves with war material; and finally isolate them in areas where humans cannot survive easily (deserts or frozen tundras come to mind). Once the aliens have isolated the remain population in areas where they are unable to sustain themselves-- humanity dies off easily.

And yes it would sense that Aliens with the ability to travel between stars could do all of this easily.

Hi, first of all I love the show my Mom and Dad do to. I have a few questions and an idea. My first question is when is the show coming back on? My next one is how did the 2nd mass get joined together, how did they all meet? And my idea is that they could have more encounters with the skitters. Oh and one more question will they get Karen and Tom back?

First of all I'd like to say I love FS just for the story of it and human aspect. Yes it might be flawed but I'm not sitting at home trying to work out all the military aspects. I just want a good human story with some awesome drama and I think that's what we get. For the person who is picking this story apart inch by inch: you need to get out more. Second I also want to know if we will get any more insight to the character lives before the attacks and more detail as to how the skidders became skidders. Are the children going to end up like them? I also wanted to say I like it when you glimpse tiny bits of the softer side of POPE. Bring it back soon, Next year is WAAAAAY to long to wait.

first of all I just want to say well done on Falling Skies. it takes a lot to get me hooked on a show and I was hooked in the first 5 minutes.I'm not sure if I missed it or not but what planet are the *skidders* actually from? of is there not actually a name for it?

2nd question- what will Tom's sons be thinking when weaver tells them the skidders have taken Tom? or more what will weaver do now his second in command has been taken? will they retreat and run or fight harder to stop the ship from taking. also sorry this is such a random question- the other kids didnt know who any of the adults were when they had the harnesses on how did karen know it was Tom?

Also, don't feed the trolls. 10/10 for Turing on this count (and I don't give out 10's for trolling EVER).

I'd like to know about the Tom/Anne relationship and where that is going in Season 2; I thought it was a pretty natural progression (given the circumstances of the characters). I'm just hoping that Tom (obviously the main protagonist/likable guy) isn't stowed away on some alien ship the entire season.

I see unless everyone sits down and all reads from the same fanboy-fangirl list of questions it is trolling? Right I mean why have a serious discussion about the series instead let's tell Beeman how great he is and his staff are,right? I mean that is what you want to do right?

Please, that is why Hollywood is full of people like Beeman and Spielberg- because people never said look you are just horrid at this go home. (Oh yes, Spielberg is a horrid writer and director.) I wish people would actually read Machiavelli's The Prince and use its advice more...

Secondly, let's be honest people this series is not original at all. It is like every other Alien invader series, book, movie or cartoon...

Hi! Greg just watched the two hour finale of Falling Skies and at the end of it all I could ask myself was WHY? Don't know the share of market the show is getting but if you are scoring well, it's a sad testament to the desperation of the male demo for good science fiction!

From "The Visitors" to "The Event" to "Falling Skies", why does the writing have to be so amateurish treating the audience as mental midgets?

Stereotypical plot lines, boring heroes and aliens that my grandmother could beat! It was an affront to the audiences intelligence that in the finale the resistance brought down the aliens communications via a $99 Radio Shack radio transmitter. Anyone that knows anything knows that NO CURRENT MILITARY GROUP, even the Taliban (probably) use a single frequency to transmit over, they all modulate frequencies hundreds of times a minute!

So this unimaginable intelligence that figured out what most physicists consider IMPOSSIBLE, interplanetary travel - don't have enough brains to modulate their frequencies as almost everyone here knows how to do NOW!

Enough bashing Greg! But why can't creative people like you write stories that fascinate us, engross our imaginations much as LOST on ABC did for 6 years! You are telling the story of a cataclysmic battle for the human race and it's reduced to Shootout at the OK Corral!

It's just a pity Greg, so much potential, the male demo is so hungry for brain food and Hollywood just wants to starve us! So many places the story could go...

I don't have a question, I just love the show and think that the people who posted ridiculous rants and spent time pointing out every possible error in the show should shut the hell up. (ie Alan Turing) Seriously, your #6 kill the kids? Sigh. Keep up the good work Beeman.

Do you know already which directors your are going to work with next season? Are most of them Season 1 directors or are there going to be some "fresh" faces as well? Any chance of more of your "old" Heroes-Directos, like Adame Kane, Jeannot Szwarc or Roxann Dawson returning?

Could you maybe talk a little bit about the selection process for directors in general?

I'm loving the show, and it being basically a comic book, I have no problem with plausibility or suspension of disbelief -- it's a yarn, and a good one!

One thing I'd like to see improved is gun handling. Everyone does a great job of keeping fingers off triggers, but muzzle discipline needs work. I'm a certified firearms instructor and I cringe when I see the business end a gun waved past someone. Watch combat footage of guys in the field. I'm sure your armorers would be happy to help.

Thanks for an enthralling story. Looking forward to fighting on with the resistance next summer!

I'll answer to Alan Turing and other smart humans :)there is a lot of imbeciles on this planet and it is about 99% of so called homo sapiens (most of them homo erectus actually)and some % of that imbeciles is so called artists (worst of possible degeneratism)most of the time they are trying to replicate everything that normal beings do, but because they are imbeciles they cannot understand that it is imbecilic thing to do anyway and they cannot do anything at least well enoughthat is why... :(

to BEEMAN if you cannot think yourself you always can ask help of someone smartwe don't need some "show to kill time" we need exellence... do not depict existence of imbeciles...

Just got one question really. I noticed the mechs have a massive similarity to the Geckos out of Metal Gear Solid 4. Not just the fact they look identical as both are bipedal machines, but they also make the same noise. Did the gecko's from MGS4 inspire the creating of the mechs in anyway?

Hey Greg,I've become a huge fan of Falling Skies. It's a really good show and i can not wait for the new season to begin. As a big Lost fan deep character stories and relationships are important for me and i believe that what makes people feel attach to a show is when they can relate to the characters. So far in its first season Falling Skies has done a good job. But i'd like to see more. Mason familiy connection is great and gets a lot of care from the writers obviously. My question is will we be seeing other character connections as well? For example Dr. Glass and Lourdes are my favs but Lourdes barely gets attention so i'd really like to know more about her. How she lost her familiy, how could she manage to stay all faithful and optimistic after everything that happened? And since i always love strong female characters i hope there's some action in store for her too. Please give us more Anne/Lourdes Hal/Lourdes scenes in season 2. Thanks.

I recently purchased a Season Pass on iTunes and noticed that you changed the appearance of the Aliens so they look more humanoid in appearance. The last scene with Tom the alien stepped out of the darkness rather than from the ship.

LET ME CLARIFY. ON THE ITUNES RELEASE, GOING BACK TO THE EPISODE, WHAT HIDES BENEATH, THE PRODUCERS HAVE CHANGED THE APPEARANCE OF THE ALIEN MASTERS. WHY DID THEY DO THIS? WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OR FEEDBACK FOR THIS HAPPENING?

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT IS CHANGING?

I LOVE YOUR PROGRAM DESPITE, IT'S OBVIOUS LOGIC FLAWS. IT IS GOOD SCIENCE FICTION AND SHOULD CAUSE ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT OUR DEPENDANCE ON TECHNOLOGY AND HOW ARMED WE SHOULD BE.

I believe that the reason Tom is allowing himself to be taken is to try to communicate with the aliens or get a glimpse of any what their plans are for the Human Civilization. Also to impart on the Aliens (since he is a student of history and human civilization) that our species has always rebelled against invaders and will not succumb easily.

So often when a good sci-fi show comes around it end up going for bigger and better and as a result we lose the integrity of the show. And just as often it seems the show ends up cancelled, perhaps as a result. Do you plan to stick to the great character development. I hope so, it would be a shame for this show to end up going for bigger and better special effects if it meant losing the depth of character, the heart of the show.

First thing I loved the series I especially liked Popes character, there have been comments from a certain individual stating that he is an unbelievable character I find this individuals comments to be highly amusing as out of all the characters this is possibly one of your strongest and most complex. As for things like fuel for generators etc ethanol would do the job and is relatively simple to produce :). I also liked the DNA re-sequencing that was hinted at as a side effect of the harness also the common materials in the construction of the structure over the city this suggests to me that the invading aliens are not that far ahead of us tech wise is this the case? Will we be seeing more guerilla warfare from the resistance?

With a history professor on board why havent they used more primative weapons against the invaders? For instance pipes or logs to trip up the mechs.Even covered pits would cause them problems.I think the professor would figure out how to constuct and use a trebochet against the mechs.By the way awesome show! If season 2 is anything close to season 1 there will be a season 3!!!

In episode ten its revealed that the aliens communicate through radio waves and a small, decades old radio manages to completely rout them. How could they hover above the world's major cities for weeks prior to attacking when far more powerful radio and tv signals were being broadcast?

This is a great show, I really like it. I actually have two questions. First, when will the new season start? And second, and more importantly, WHY WAS THERE ONLY 10 EPISODES IN SEASON ONE??!! Ten episodes is NOT a season. It is an injustice to your fans.I'm just sayin.

Alan Turing... I'm going to keep it simple. Try suspending disbelief and give the show a chance to develop and you may be able to enjoy it.

According to Wikipedia's definition, "Suspension of disbelief or "willing suspension of disbelief" is a formula for justifying the use of fantastic or non-realistic elements in literary works of fiction. It was put forth in English by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. sohbetchatMynet SohbetMynet habervideo sitesisevgi sözleriMynet Oyunlar

Hey Greg, this is Paul Arnold. I am not sure if you remember me or not, but I played the role of one of your German mechanics in 'The Big Garage' while you were at USC. I was the lead mechanic with the lines. A friend said they saw my name listed as a cast member of one of your films on IMDb website.

I googled your name and found this site. I am acting again after a career as a police officer. I can be found at LA casting and Actors Access. Looks like your doing well.

Great show Greg anyways I'm from mass myself and being mid winter i have one question. Will next season go into how the second mass endured the New England winter or will we just be skipping that part of the year all together?

y the negative attitude towards Anne, Tom and their baby. For one, I feel this is their ultimate revenge against the aliens, to continue the human race. 2, It adds a new dynamic to the show. 3, These people know that life is short and they have t

Popular Posts

Tonight's episode was written by: Joe Weiseberg And directed by: John Dahl I love this episode (and I hope you do to) for all the ways
in which it deepens and elaborates our big-picture storyline. We’ve been worried about Ben and how connected he (and all
the harnessed kids) are to the
skitters… And then, beginning with
episode 3, of this year, we saw the connection, and perhaps control the Red-Eyed
skitter, has over Ben – but now the story gets even more complex, with the idea
that some skitters may have rebelled from their masters and want to join
the humans in fighting. The way
Remi Aubuchon and his team have taken our first year story and added to it is
just great and this was an exciting episode to produce. Usually a few weeks before we get a script for an episode,
the writers will send us an outline.
This is generally an 8 to 10 page document that lists the scenes and
overall beats to expect in the upcoming teleplay. It’s a great way to begin planning, but usually they’r…

TIMELESS - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 6 - "KING OF THE DELTA BLUES"

Anslem Richardson, Malcom Barrett, Paterson Joseph and Kamal Naiqui all looking sharp TIMELESS –
SEASON 2 – EPISODE 6 – “KING OF THE DELTA BLUES” (Warning some spoilers exist herin) We now join in to your regularly scheduled programming… By which I mean…The Beaming Beeman blog has been dormant for
quite awhile… I’ve been busy, but I’ve either been doing the
journeyman-episodic-director thing, where I go from episode to episode of
different shows that I’m not attached to full-time (enjoyable in it’s right),
or I haven’t been the producing/director of the show that felt right to
resurrect the blog. This season, finally, I landed on TIMELESS.A happy event for me.The show was created by Shawn Ryan and
Eric Kripke - who are the nicest, most supportive and professional showrunners
a fellow could want for. I
had the great experience this year of strong scripts, a great writer’s team and
a sense of collaboration to make 10 great …

Tonight’s episode was written by Jesse Alexander and was directed by Adam Kane. Both of these gents have been workhorses for us. Jesse is a most formidable presence in the writer’s room – driving the scripts and stories forward. And he has written several key episodes for us. Adam, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, was the director of photography of the pilot. We gave him his first episodic break as a director last year with “.07%." This is his third episode for us.

Tonight’s episode weaves past, present and future together in the way that only we can. Adam and Peter finally leave the Montreal warehouse and begin working together… But for good or for bad? Sylar implements the next phase of his plan, which has unfortunate results for one twin. Suresh has a breakthrough, and then a setback. Claire contemplates life without father, unaware that dear old HRG is trapped in the basement of Primatech.